Thoughts from The Bible

Thoughts from the Bible

Wednesday, 08 November 2023 09:33

These Things

by Joey Carroll Corinth Missionary Baptist Church

Every book of the Bible is written to a particular group of people with a particular purpose in mind.
John is very clear in his intentions in writing his five books of the Bible. Near the end of the Gospel of John, he writes in John 20:30-31, “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name,” (NASB). Matthew, Mark, and Luke had the same purpose in writing their Gospel accounts – in order that you might believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, trust in who Jesus is, and know what God has done through His Son is sufficient and necessary for your salvation.

All four of the gospels are evangelistic in their goal. They describe in great detail the events of Jesus’ life, His teachings, His miracles, and especially His substitutionary sacrifice for our sins on the cross and His resurrection. All the gospel accounts are meant to foster faith in Him.
But 1 John is written with a different goal. He defines his goal near the end of his book in 1 John 5:13, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life,” (NASB).

John writes to believers, those who have been saved, in order to help them have absolute certainty about their salvation. God, in His grace, provided instruction and encouragement for His people to have assurance of their salvation. There are many in the church today who will say things to give you that certainty.
Others seem so convinced “in their hearts” that they are truly saved. But would it not be better to allow God’s Word to do the convincing? Would it not be better to listen to the One who gives life in order that you may be certain that you have life? If you would rather have God be the source of your encouragement, then I encourage you to read 1 John often as we spend the next several weeks walking through this very important letter for the church.

John likes to use repetitive words and phrases to make things simple for us. For instance, if you noticed “these things” at the beginning of 1 John 5:13, you will find that John uses that phrase more than once. In 2:26, John writes “These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you,” (NASB). Now that is a frightening thought. There are those who are actively trying to deceive you about the Lord Jesus Christ and your relationship with Him.

In fact, John will say in 2 John 7 “For many deceivers have gone out into the world,” (NASB, emphasis added). And so, many deceivers have led people astray within the many cults and false religions in the world today. But they are not the only ones doing the deceiving. The Bible also warns that we can deceive ourselves in believing that we are saved when we are actually not. John is concerned about that as well as he writes in 1 John 1:8 “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us,” (NASB). And he goes on a few verses later saying, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin” (1 John 2:1, NASB).

John knows something that many in the church completely ignore in our day. The one who practices sin as a way of life, ignoring the clear calls in Scripture to turn from sin and pursue righteousness, are the ones who have deceived themselves into believing that they are saved. But John wants us to be encouraged that as we battle against our sin and walk in repentance and faith in Jesus as the payment for our sins that we can know that we truly have eternal life in Him.
1 John is a very necessary letter for the church in our day, and I hope you will join us in the weeks ahead.